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Taking the right route towards making money depends on one’s knowledge and skills. If you are investing in the stock market, it is your investment skills that will count rather than your financial strength. As an investor, you can win and lose money in minutes depending on the tactics and the strategies you follow. Besides stock knowledge, getting updated with the latest market news also counts because it is market fluctuations that steer the rise and fall of stock prices. Stock market news will bring into the light which companies are gaining, which are losing, and related information.

The investor who is skilled and uses his practical judgment to spot some good value stocks can beat the market, whatever is the situation. And his skill is given a boost with the up-to-the-minute stock market news updation he has. A disciplined investment plan and following the right strategy always pays no matter whether you go for day trading or other short term and long term investment products.

Business news in India contains information about the prominent sectors, small segments, local businesses, big companies, SMEs, MSMEs, mutual funds, stocks, stock brokers, and the list goes on. As an investor, you should be equipped with what all business news carries so that your money does not go into the drains. Besides watching the television broadcasting business news in India, you can access the same information, in fact in a more detailed perspective, at a news portal. There are numerous dedicated business news portals that carry the A-Z of information about the stock market, business, and all related market news.

Getting updated with business news is thus a necessity. Though the downtrend scenario is no longer there which created a panicky situation for months together, yet to stay in sync with what is happening around you can always keep yourself at a competitive advantage. And whether it is an up-market or down market, fluctuations are always there. If you have already invested in stocks and are waiting for an opportune moment to sell them, it is a must to stay updated with market news. Only then can you know whether it is the right time to sell them or still hold on. The latest updates in the world of finance and business are covered by business news or market news as termed by many.

So you are now feeling more positive about your new house cleaning business and you are now trying to determine your target market. This is one of the best strategies for your business: organizing which markets to target.

In your cleaning business, it doesn’t only mean that you should be organizing the things in your client’s homes, nor should you only be organizing your crew and office staff. One of the things that you must organize too includes your target markets. By organizing which markets to target and which markets not to, you are setting a much clearer path for your business to progress towards.

Home Owners
If you target home owners, then you are opening for your cleaning business opportunities upon opportunities. Everyone has a home. Although not really everyone hires a cleaner to maintain their homes, there is a big portion of the population that does. Careers are getting more serious, eating up hours of both husband and wife; the modern has become too fast paced as well. So this is when having a cleaner maintain their home becomes the solution to a better life – preventing more stress, promoting a better quality of life.

Home owners aren’t as big an account as commercial clients, but there are many, and the jobs are far easier and most likely routine. What is nice about home owners as clients is that you do the service, they pay, if they want it again, they call. Transacting with these clients is easy and convenient – simple and stress-free. Plus the equipments and supplies needed are usually the same ones you use at home, so there’s no need to purchase specialized equipments – making your capital investment a light one. And for your cleaning business marketing, these people can refer you to their neighbor, their friend, their family, their co-worker, etc… So as long as you do a good job, you’re most likely to get referred by your clients. It’s like you and all of them are a happy, harmonious family.

Commercial Clients
Commercial clients, on the other hand, are also a good market if you land a good deal. Although getting an account or job is not as easy as the process with the home owners, it can be as rewarding as the house cleaning business too. However, with commercial clients you usually have to bid for a job along with other competing cleaning companies who want it, and you will also be investing a larger capital. You will need cleaning crews to cover it, as well as specialized equipment, if ever.

Hence, cleaning business opportunities will come with good cleaning business marketing. Just focus on it.

Ready to start your own business and make it a roaring success? Wonderful! When you can face the challenge with optimism and attitude, you’re on solid ground.

If you’re fired-up and enthusiastic, you’re much more likely to take the necessary actions that will point your new enterprise in the right direction. Of course you’ll need much more the right mindset. So, what I’m going to share in this article are 3 important concepts that will help any new business make steady progress from day one.

1. Seek Out A Hungry Market First

Many people get it all wrong. They see a product or line they like figure they could sell it as well as anyone, so why not start a business and make money with something they like? Others spend years working on an invention, or some kind of creative work like a book. After they complete it, the marketing begins. But all too often these folks discover that the market just isn’t there.

But this scenario is completely avoidable.

The simple solution is to find a “hungry” market first. See first… find it… and then create what this market wants.

2. People Buy Perceived Solutions To Problems

Study any market and look at what ails people most. What is the unmet want or need? Can you pinpoint it? What one thing would the majority in this group most like to have?

The best place to begin is to look for problems. Problems weigh us down. But problems experienced by a large number of people also mean the opportunity is there to solve it — and solve it you will when you start your own business based on your findings.

What others want may not necessarily be a solution to a problem, but it needs to get them closer to their goal. When people get an internal feeling that your product or service will help them get to the next level in their lives, they’re ready to buy.

3. People Respond According To Their Own Self Interest

It’s very important that you recognize this. Nobody gives a fig about your business start up. I know that sounds harsh. After all, when you start your own business, it becomes your baby. But the truth is people are mostly focused on their own self-interest.

What you want to do when you start your own business is enter the conversation that’s already going on in your prospective customers’ mind. Communicate what’s most important to your market and you’ll gain a receptive and responsive ear. You’ll connect with others when you understand their pain, their problem and their predicament.

Very few people are aware that investments in Slovenia are much more profitable, compared to investing the same amount in the United States or the United Kingdom. Slovenia property investments have potential for higher returns on your hard-earned lifetime savings than other markets. With the guidance of a professional experienced in Slovenian markets, you would be able to benefit from the opportunities existing in Slovenia for maximizing your returns. When you mention property investment in overseas markets, the initial reception is usually skeptical. When you take this topic further by saying that investments in Slovenia are more profitable compared to the property market in California, you are most likely to shock most of the people.

For example, if you say that you had bought a housing property in Slovenia for $500,000, the initial comments would most probably be, “Slovenia? Is it a town or a country? I have never heard of it”, “Don’t you think buying a house in Slovenia is a risky affair?”, and “I am convinced that you are not acting in an intelligent manner.” Some of the comments could be even harsher. On the other hand, if you state that you have invested $1,000,000 in a waterfront property in a remote area in California, people would unanimously agree that you had made a wise decision. In reality, which of the above two investments is riskier? How to decide whether property investment in new overseas markets like Slovenia is riskier or safer than an investment in native California?

Slovenia Economy

It is true that many real estate investors in various countries had neither heard of Slovenia or the opportunities that this little known neighbor of Italy offers in the property field. Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and recently adopted euro as its currency. It would be interesting to know that Slovenia possesses the highest per capita GDP in the Central Europe region, according to the CIA World Factbook. Further, the infrastructure of this country is one of the best and the workforce is also quite well-educated. Like most global countries, properties appreciated significantly between 2004 and 2007. However, the worldwide recession after the bursting of the real estate bubble in the middle of 2008 in the United States affected Slovenia also to a certain extent. Still, the country had managed to recover and is now on the growth path again. The present GDP growth rate is around 5%, the highest for any new member state of the European Union.

Slovenia Real Estate Market

Data released by the Statistical Office of Republic of Slovenia (SORS) reveal that property values rose at an annual average of 1.3% between 2004 and 2007 but declined after that. During the first quarter of 2009, the prices of houses on sale in second-hand market dropped by 7% from the same period in 2008, while the fall in real terms was at 8.7%. The real estate prices in the capital city of Ljubljana collapsed by 8% in nominal terms and 9.6% in real terms, while the decline was 6.8% in nominal terms and 8.5% in real terms in the rest of the country during the first quarter of 2009. This had brought down property prices, which is not a negative point but a positive factor. You could buy properties at lower rates right now.

Investment Opportunities in Slovenian Properties

The biggest assets of Slovenia are its valleys blooming with vineyards, the breathtaking coastlines, the snowy peaks of Alps and the rolling hills, the numerous rivers, and beautiful waterfalls. These features had made Slovenia a major tourist attraction, with possibilities for rental properties thriving financially. At the same time, the slump in property values and the possibility of significant appreciation in this decade make this country a prime location for real estate investment. After the setback of 2008, the Slovenian economy had been recovering at a faster rate than several other European and North American nations. A recent survey voted Slovenia among the top 10 countries offering best opportunities in real estate investment.

According to the survey, the growth rate of property values in Slovenia are forecast to increase at an astonishing rate of 284% on an average, between 2010 and 2020. The annual rate of real estate price growth is estimated at 30% at present. As such, investment in real estate of Slovenia is considered as a long-term, safe and solid proposition. Do you know that you would be able to buy a few hectares of prime land covered with vineyards and having a medium-sized 2-bedroom house for a low price of 80,000 euros or about $100,000? The interesting fact is that nearly 40% of Slovenia has land covered with vineyards and it is a major wine-producing nation. Even the properties in major cities of Slovenia, such as Ljubljana and Maribor cost only around 1,500 to 3,000 euros or $1,800 to $3,600 per square meter.

Procedures of Investment in Slovenia Real Estate

Apart from the several registered real estate operators in Slovenia, the local laws explicitly permit people from the United States and European Union to buy properties in Slovenia without any restriction. It would take about a month to complete all the formalities required to buy a property. With certain stipulations, you could also avail financing and mortgaging options but it is advisable to finance your purchases out of your own resources, if you want to maximize the returns on your investment.

Conclusion

It is obvious that a property investment in Slovenia is likely to be more profitable as a long-term venture when compared to the same amount being invested in the United States or other countries in the European Union, where the economic growth rate is still sluggish. The present growth of Slovenia promises better returns in this decade than any real estate investment in these countries. As such, it could be safely concluded that your investment in Slovenian real estate would prove to be more profitable than a similar investment in several other countries right now and much less riskier.

Real estate professionals today have a plethora of high tech options out there to enhance their business, but rarely do we fully consider the value of the lockbox – the sole piece of equipment responsible for allowing agents to show the homes that we sell everyday. The lockbox itself has evolved over time, and today agents find themselves comparing the value from a standard combination lockbox to that of a more high-tech electronic lockbox. Real estate agents today are pressed from all sides for fees, dues, and expenditures that are unavoidable costs of doing business, so when it comes to making a decision between a combination lockbox that’s just a few bucks versus a high-tech electronic lockbox that is substantially more expensive, does the increase in cost justify the value? Also, what are all the options out there for electronic lockboxes? This article highlights the findings of current industry options available.

Having the ability to show a home without the sellers there to watch your every move was a move in the right direction for the real estate industry. Agents know very well the situation where a seller will remain in a home during a showing and “pretend” like they are minding their own business while the buyers tip-toe through the home trying not to impose while attempting to get a sense of what the home was like.

This is a wild departure from the typical showing when the sellers aren’t there; clients love to snoop around in order to get a good sense of the home. With the sellers not there, the buyers get a good opportunity to get a true sense of how that particular home would feel and if they can see themselves living there. Put simply, it allows for a better, more convenient showing experience.

From this dilemma the lockbox was invented. A device securing the key for entry by licensed real estate agents to show their prospective buyers, and it allowed sellers (or their agents) the opportunity to have the home shown without the need of their presence. It saved time, and allowed for a better showing experience. Truly, it was a win-win.

However, early lockboxes were simply a combination lockbox. They are certainly inexpensive, but an obvious downside was the lack of security for the home in question once the lockbox code was known. Sellers would rely on the professional ethics of real estate agents to keep the code confidential, but sometimes the code would slip into hands of non-agents. Less frequently, the code would be found by people with malicious intent.

With the obvious shortfall of relying on the honor system to keep lockbox codes confidential, it offered the opportunity for a better solution that would allow for accountability along with the ability to show a home without the seller being present. As a result, it did not take long for “smart” lockboxes using electronic technology to come into existence, thus revolutionizing the process of showing a home. Before a seller and their agent wouldn’t really know who was showing the property other than the confirmed appointments that were made. Flash forward to today, and you have the ability to know exactly who and exactly when someone shows a property through the use of an electronic lockbox. With these smart electronic lockboxes, only an agent or other authorized party can access the lockbox itself, further emboldening the assurance to a seller that only licensed agents and properly authorized individuals are showing or entering their home.

Today there are 2 main companies that provide these smart electronic lockboxes to real estate agency associations. They are Supra key and Sentrilock. Together they comprise the majority of the lockbox industry market; nobody else comes close.

Supra (or SupraKey) is owned by general electric and provides lockbox solutions to all sorts of niche industries, real estate lockboxes being one of them. Bill Love, national account manager for Supra, says that out of a given state or region in the country, Supra, on average, maintains an 80% market share. Supra has sold several million lockboxes throughout the years to real estate agents, and currently Love estimates that there are 1.5 million+ Supra lockboxes currently in use by about 750,000 real estate agents throughout the country.

The supra key itself features a cylindrical design up to the “shackle” (the loop part of the lockbox that will noose around something and keep it in its place securely) where the shackle fits in seamlessly. Its simplistic design is pleasing to the eye, and to activate the lockbox, an agent has a “digital key” that’s about the size of a small flip phone and has a number pad and screen on it. The agent sets the key to open a box and points it in the direction of an infrared sensor on the box itself. When the lockbox recognizes that it being accessed by the remote digital key, it will release to allow access and the bottom of the lockbox will fall out when it’s pushed by the agent, and voilà, the key to the home is available for the agent to take and open the door for the showing.

Love says that Supra has plans for upgrades to the current model lockbox that will include the ability for wireless Bluetooth access and syncing. Also, rather than having the digital key, if the agent has a smartphone, Supra offers an app for access with the phone instead, which makes it easier and more convenient, for a monthly fee. Love claims that the key difference with a Supra Lockbox is that “it keeps intelligence in the hands of the user.” Rather than having to rely on extra equipment or other trades people, the user has the control. Supra has had the current model for several years now with incremental software updates along the way. If an agent wants to buy a new Supra lockbox, it costs around $90, but the actual price that an agent will pay is determined by the association that they belong to.

Sentrilock is the other major player in the real estate lockbox industry. Sentrilock, which is based out of Indiana and is partially owned by the National Association of Realtors has been around for less than a decade and currently services about 250 of the 1000+ Realtor associations throughout the country and Canada as well. These associations comprise about 250,000 agents and approximately 500,000 lockboxes in current use. Sentrilock has 2 main models that are currently used; one is a silver lockbox that resembles a cell phone from the late 1980′s, bulky and heavy and somewhat longer in size than the supra lockbox. It has a key pad directly on the front of the lockbox itself, and holds the key within a drop-down door that pops open when accessed.

The other lockbox they offer is a smaller, more compact blue lockbox that is more cube-ish in shape but with the similar functionality features. The main difference between the silver and blue lockbox is that the blue lockbox allows for more space within the lockbox itself (which is important for people trying to sell a condo and who need to include an “access fob” in addition to the key to the front door of the unit itself – there just isn’t enough room for multiple keys or when including the access fob with Sentrilocks’ silver lockbox). Sentrilock sells their lockboxes for about $125 a piece, but this also depends on where you are getting it from, as the actual retail price is determined by the local real estate association that sells the boxes.

Both lockbox companies offer substantial warranties on the product themselves. They also have a support team that is almost always available in the event there is difficulty in accessing a lockbox, or for troubleshooting purposes. Both companies offer a comprehensive online tool that can provide the analytics from the showings and use of a specific lockbox which agents can use to share with their clients.

Some of the main differences between these two are how the lockbox itself is accessed. Sentrilock doesn’t need an extra piece of equipment to open a box. Rather, they utilize a “Smart-Card” which is essentially a credit-card that fits into the lockbox and has a chip inside it that shares your information with the lockbox you are accessing. This card is all you need to access the lockbox, whereas Supra requires the digital key, although they have addressed this by means of offering the smart-phone app so an agent can use their phone in place of the digital key. Both systems require updating; in other words, the smart card for the sentrilock system requires you to stick your card in a “card reader” that you get when you buy your smart-card that hooks into your computer. Every few days (the exact amount of days is determined by your local Realtor association) you must update the card through the card reader, which will allow you to show property, and at the same time uploads the information of the places you have shown to the Sentrilock system, which in turn is then able to be seen by the agents who owned the lockboxes of the places that you accessed. In a pinch you can update your card over the phone, but you can only do this once or twice.

On the other hand, supra keys update wirelessly. They didn’t always do this, where you were required to keep your “digital key” docked on a charging station that was hooked up to a phone line. You had to do this every day and that’s how the system would both update your card as well as share your showing information to the system. The wireless updating feature has been in place for a year or two now, and takes the headache out of the equation of having you update your key each and every day.

The back end system for Sentrilock allows an agent to create specific access codes for one-time access of a specific lockbox. This makes it really convenient for a contractor, appraiser, termite inspector, etc. to be able to access a property with a code, but only one time because that code will expire after the day the code was intended to be used. This is a great feature that Supra doesn’t have an answer to.

Although there are benefits to both systems, any agent can’t simply choose which lockbox system they want to use – this is decided, agreed to and contractually obligated between either Sentrilock or Supra and an agent’s local real estate association. These associations, once they have agreed on a system to use can then “tweak” the system to their discretion and preference. Things like the cost of a lockbox, whether the lockbox is leased or sold to agents, the amount of times an agent can renew their key by phone, the amount of days that can elapse before an update of an access key is required, these and more options can be tweaked and most real estate professionals are unaware that other options or preferences exist.
When comparing the benefits over your standard combination lockbox, an agent must be able to justify the added cost of a smart-electronic lockbox by the value it provides. It’s easy to do so, especially when taking the seller’s best interests at heart, as the smart lockbox will ensure accountability and a better safety and security measure for the showing process and for the home itself. Its analytics information and the ability to control who can actually gain access to the home are tantamount to successfully being able to gauge the interest in a home by means of how many people are interested in seeing it as well as being able to rest assure the seller that a home is being shown but in the most secure manner possible.

During this most recent downturn in the economy, most real estate markets throughout the country were inundated (and some still are) with foreclosure property. Certain real estate brokerages that specialized in this type of distressed property had the best years of production on record for the 2008 and 2009 years. All of these properties that needed to be shown and sold needed lockboxes, but the value provided by a smart lockbox through Sentrilock or Supra didn’t justify the cost to acquire, as distressed-property brokerages had inventories of 50, 100, 200 or 300 properties at a given time. The smart lockboxes were too expensive, especially when taking into account that the home in question was owned by the bank, it was vacant and the analytics of showings didn’t matter when a given foreclosure property is selling in no time at all with multiple offers. If an agent is carrying even 50 listings with a smart lockbox, it entails $5000 worth of lockboxes needed on all the properties he/she has for sale. At this point, a less expensive combination lockbox from Lowes for $7 looks way better and the total outlay for the lockboxes is substantially less. It’s a combination of utility value and overall price paid from the standpoint of the real estate professional, so it begs the question, why are the smart lockboxes so expensive?

Put simply, the market will bear the current price point of both the Supra and Sentrilock lockboxes because the value they provide are well worth the cost. That being said, certain companies have come into existence that are poised to take advantage of the amount of agents that want to sell their used lockboxes as well as the agents out there who don’t want to pay retail for the lockbox(es) they need for their business. Blake Nolan, co-owner of San Diego based LockboxSwap has created a website where a secondary market has been created and regulated for both the Sentrilock and Supra lockbox systems. Nolan says his company can help agents buy or sell their lockboxes and in the process save time and money. “Right now there is no real place online that offers what we offer” Nolan Says. He continues that “if you call into (any association) and ask about used lockboxes, or where to sell your own lockboxes, they say to go try craigslist or Ebay. We created LockboxSwap to address this vast and untapped market opportunity.”

Nolan’s’ LockboxSwap company plans to unveil the business this summer, and preliminary beta-test users have offered rave reviews.

In the world of Realtor lockboxes, smart-lockboxes are preferred because the overall value inherent in being able to secure a home, controlling the use of entry and having analytical accountability far outweighs the alternative of your standard combination lockbox (or no lockbox at all) Although the 2 main players in the Realtor lockbox arena have 2 excellent products, both fall short of being 100% perfect. They both do some things quite well and have the capabilities that the other does not. It would be great to be able to merge both products and concepts together, but since that is not possible, it’s up to each individual Realtor association to interview and determine which company is a better “fit” for them. At the end of the day, the 2 companies and respective products, although imperfect, represent competition between one another which keeps productivity and innovation high while keeping prices in check. Companies like that of LockboxSwap help to do this further by inventing and establishing the precedent for an industry that hereto has yet to exist, but has the ability to offer a cost-efficient alternative to Realtor professionals when it comes to their lockbox needs.

No matter what, it’s obvious the industry is moving in the right direction; we are witnessing technological advancements that help to serve Realtor professionals do their job better and more efficiently, and it is interesting to see what will be the norm in the near future as well as the long term. For now, Realtor professionals should be confident in knowing that while it’s great where we stand today, the future is only getting brighter.